Kronos Quartet discography
The discography of the Kronos Quartet includes 43 studio albums, two compilations, five soundtracks, and 29 contributions to other artists' records. The Kronos Quartet plays classical, pop, rock, jazz, folk, world and contemporary classical music (often written especially for them by for instance Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Alexandra Vrebalov, ...) and was founded in 1973 by violinist David Harrington. Since 1978, they are based in San Francisco, California. Since 1985, the quartet's music has been released on Nonesuch Records.
Kronos Quartet discography | |
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Kronos Quartet live in Warsaw, Poland. Photograph by Henryk Kotowski. | |
Studio albums | 43 |
Compilation albums | 2 |
Video albums | 3 |
Soundtrack albums | 5 |
Contributions | 29 |
Early recordings by the quartet contain contemporary classical music and adaptations of more popular music, such as jazz and rock and roll. Since the 1980s, and especially with the release of Cadenza on the Night Plain, written as a collaboration between composer Terry Riley and the quartet, much of the quartet's repertoire and album releases contain music written especially for them, by composers such as Terry Riley, Kevin Volans, Henryk Górecki, and Ástor Piazzolla. Their music "covers a who's who of 20th century-composers", as one critic noted in 1998.[1]
Kronos has recorded five soundtracks including the 1998 score by Philip Glass for the 1931 silent movie Dracula, and has contributed to the soundtracks of five other movies, including Heat and 21 Grams. Outside the genre of classical music, Kronos has collaborated with a great number of other artists, especially pop artists, such as Joan Armatrading, Dave Matthews Band, Andy Summers, Nelly Furtado, and Nine Inch Nails.
The quartet has achieved considerable commercial and critical success and by 1998 (the year of the quartet's 25th anniversary) had sold more than 1.5 million albums.[2] Many of Kronos' albums have ranked on various Billboard charts;[3] the 1992 album Pieces of Africa reached #1 in the Top World Albums chart.[4] The quartet won a Grammy for the 2003 album Lyric Suite.
Studio albums
Year | Album details | Notes |
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1979 | Music of Dane Rudhyar
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1982 | In Formation
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1985 | Monk Suite: Kronos Quartet Plays Music of Thelonious Monk
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1985 | Terry Riley: Cadenza on the Night Plain
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1986 | Music of Bill Evans
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1986 | Kronos Quartet
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1987 | White Man Sleeps
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1988 | Winter Was Hard
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1989 | Steve Reich: Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint
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1989 | Kronos Quartet Plays Terry Riley: Salome Dances for Peace
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1990 | Black Angels
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1991 | Witold Lutosławski: String Quartet
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1991 | Kevin Volans: Hunting:Gathering
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1991 | Five Tango Sensations
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1991 | Henryk Mikolaj Górecki: Already It Is Dusk/"Lerchenmusik"
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1991 | Music of Claude Ballif
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1992 | Pieces of Africa
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1993 | Short Stories
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1993 | Henryk Górecki: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2
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1993 | At the Grave of Richard Wagner
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1993 | Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet
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1993 | Bob Ostertag: All the Rage
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1994 | Night Prayers
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1995 | Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass
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1996 | Howl, USA
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1997 | Osvaldo Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind
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1997 | Tan Dun: Ghost Opera
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1997 | Early Music (Lachrymæ Antiquæ)
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1998 | Kronos Quartet Performs Alfred Schnittke: The Complete String Quartets
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1998 | John Adams: John's Book of Alleged Dances
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2000 | Caravan
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2001 | Terry Riley: Requiem for Adam
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2001 | Steve Reich: Triple Quartet
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2002 | Nuevo
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2003 | Pēteris Vasks: String Quartet No. 4
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2003 | Alban Berg: Lyric Suite
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2003 | Harry Partch: U.S. Highball
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2005 | Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
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2005 | You've Stolen My Heart: Songs From R.D. Burman's Bollywood with Asha Bhosle
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2007 | Henryk Górecki: String Quartet No. 3 ('...songs are sung')
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2007 | Kronos Quartet Plays Sigur Rós
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2008 | Terry Riley: The Cusp of Magic
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*Written for the quartet, with Wu Man (pipa).[63] Reached #3 in Billboard's "Top Classical Albums" and stayed on the chart for 10 weeks.[64] |
2008 | Kronos plays Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen
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2009 | Floodplain
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Music written or arranged for the quartet, "from cultures based in areas surrounded by water and prone to catastrophic flooding."[65] Includes long piece by Serbian composer Aleksandra Vrebalov. |
2010 | Rainbow: Music of Central Asia Vol. 8
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With Alim and Fargana Qasimov (tracks 2-6) and Homayun Sakhi (track 1) |
2011 | Uniko
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Features Kronos Quartet, Finnish accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen (live electronics).[66] Seven-part suite for string quartet, accordion and live electronics composed by Pohjonen and Kosminen. |
2012 | Music of Vladimir Martynov
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2013 | Under 30 Project: 1-4
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Part of the Kronos' "Under 30 Project", presenting the first four commissions by: Alexandra du Bois (USA), Felipe Pérez Santiago (Mexico), Dan Visconti (USA), and Aviya Kopelman (Israel). |
2013 | Aheym - Music by Bryce Dessner
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2015 | Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector: Music of Terry Riley
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Originally released as part of the 2015 compilation "One Earth, One People, One Love: Kronos Plays Terry Riley". |
2015 | Tundra Songs
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Music by Derek Charke. Featuring Tanya Tagaq and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory. |
2016 | Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: Green Ground
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Includes:
(Also features Theatre of Voices) |
2016 | Alexandra Vrebalov: the Sea Ranch Songs
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Video and animation by Andrew Lyndon, on bonus DVD. |
2017 | Folk Songs
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Featuring Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant. Originally performed for Nonesuch Records 50th anniversary in 2014. |
2017 | Ladilikan
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With Trio Da Kali. |
2018 | Landfall
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With Laurie Anderson.
Winner of the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance. |
2018 | Clouded Yellow
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Compositions by Michael Gordon |
Compilation albums
Year | Album details | Notes |
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1995 | Released: 1985–1995 |
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1998 | Kronos Quartet: 25 Years
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2014 | Kronos Explorer Series
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5-CD box of five previously released albums from five different parts of the world: Pieces of Africa, Night Prayers, Caravan, Nuevo, and Floodplain. Includes interview with David Harrington by author Jonathan Cott. |
2014 | A Thousand Thoughts
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Featuring Asha Bhosle, Zakir Hussain, Tony MacMahon, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Astor Piazzolla, Homayun Sakhi, Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ, Don Walser, Wu Man. |
2015 | One Earth, One People, One Love: Kronos Plays Terry Riley
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5-CD box of four albums in honor of American composer Terry Riley’s 80th birthday. Includes three albums previously released by Nonesuch and a new record, "Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector". |
Video albums
Year | Video details | Notes |
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2000 | In Accord
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2002 | Kronos on Stage
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2007 | Polish Quartets (Kwartety polskie)
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Soundtracks
Year | Soundtrack details | Notes |
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1985 | Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters |
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1999 | Dracula
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2000 | Requiem for a Dream
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2006 | The Fountain
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2009 | 2081
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2014 | Noah: Music from the Motion Picture |
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2015 | Beyond Zero: 1914–1918 |
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Contributions
Year | Album details | Notes |
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1984 | Dahl, Ivey, Kingman
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1985 | John Anthony Lennon/Sheila Silver
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1986 | Philip Glass, Songs from Liquid Days
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1987 | John Zorn, Spillane |
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1990 | Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary
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1993 | Chance Operation: The John Cage Tribute
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1995 | In C: 25th Anniversary Concert
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1995 | Joan Armatrading, What's Inside
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1995 | Heat
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1996 | David Grisman Quintet, DGQ-20
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1998 | Dave Matthews Band, Before These Crowded Streets
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1999 | Jay Cloidt, Kole Kat Krush
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1999 | Café Tacuba, Reves/Yosoy
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2000 | Andy Summers, Peggy's Blue Skylight
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2001 | Osvaldo Golijov,[69] The Man Who Cried
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2001 | Ingram Marshall, Kingdom Come
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2002 | Big Bad Love (soundtrack)
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2003 | Wesla Whitfield, September Songs: The Music of Wilder, Weill and Warren
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2003 | Tiger Lillies, The Gorey End
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2003 | Bird Up: The Charlie Parker Remix Project
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2003 | Nelly Furtado, Folklore
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2003 | The Company (soundtrack)
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2003 | Gustavo Santaolalla,[74] 21 Grams (soundtrack)
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2004 | Rokia Traoré, Bowmboï
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2006 | Dan Zanes, Catch that Train
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2006 | Matmos, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
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2007 | Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation
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2007 | Osvaldo Golijov, Oceana
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2007 | Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero Remixed
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2008 | Philip Glass, Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective
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2008 | Kronos Quartet, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Kronos plays Holmgreen
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2009 | Dark Was the Night
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2011 | Hazmat Modine, Cicada
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2012 | Michael Hearst, Songs for Unusual Creatures
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2014 | The Great Beauty
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2016 | Darmstadt Aural Documents · Box 3 · Ensembles
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2017 | Michael Salvatori, Destiny 2 Original Soundtrack
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References
- General
- Catalog information from "Kronos Quartet" at Nonesuch Records (retrieved April 21, 2009) for Nonesuch releases and from Amazon.com for others, except where indicated.
- Specific
- Stack, Peter (October 18, 1998). "Kronos Quartet Celebrates 25 Years: World-renowned group's music a marriage of sound and style". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
- Richardson, Derk (January 1999). "Portrait of a Quartet: The Kronos reaps the rewards of 25 years of not fitting the mold". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 13 (5): 49–57.
- "The Kronos Quartet". Allmusic. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
- "Top World Albums: Pieces Of Africa". Billboard. October 31, 1992. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- Flegler, Joel (1984). "Rev. of Kronos Quartet, In Formation". Fanfare Magazine. 7 (3–4): 77. ISSN 0148-9364. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
- Solis, Gabriel (2007). Monk's music: Thelonious Monk and Jazz History in the Making. U of California P. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-520-25201-1.
- Bogdanov, Vladimir; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2002). "Kronos Quartet". All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music. Backbeat. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-87930-717-2. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- Tracy, Steven Carl (1999). Write me a few of your lines: a blues reader. U of Massachusetts P. p. 568. ISBN 978-1-55849-206-6.
- Schwarz, K. Robert (May 6, 1990). "Music; A New Look at a Major Minimalist". New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- Rockwell, John (May 6, 1990). "A Selective Guide To 50 New Classical CD Releases". New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- Kohlhaase, Bill (April 20, 1990). "MJQ, Kronos: 2 Sides of the Same Mirror. Jazz: Younger quartet says that in watching the four older masters, it is 'almost seeing ourselves in 30 years' time.' They play in Orange County Sunday". Los Angeles Times.
- Feathers, Leonard (August 31, 1986). "An Era of Pickiness: A Guitar LP Sampler". Los Angeles Times.
- Holden, Stephen (August 8, 1986). "Pop and Jazz Guide". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Gann, Kyle (2006). The Music of Conlon Nancarrow. Cambridge UP. pp. 48, 296. ISBN 978-0-521-02807-3.
- Rockwell, John (June 7, 1987). "50 More Top CDs to Tickle Your Laser". New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
- McCalla, James (2003). Twentieth-century Chamber Music: Routledge Studies in Musical Genres. Routledge. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-415-96695-5.
- "By The Numbers: Top 25 Classical Albums of 1989". Los Angeles Times. December 26, 1989.
- Todes, Ariana (2006). "On the Reich Tracks". The Strad. 117 (1398): 42–46.
- Marsh, Robert C. (April 3, 1990). "Passion is lacking in Part's Passio". Chicago Sun-Times.
- Woodard, Josef. "Performing Arts; East, West and Improvised; Terry Riley is a musician in the trenches—composer, pianist, raga singer—pursuing the 'moment . . . when music is vitally alive.'". Los Angeles Times. p. 70.
- Yaple, Carol (2008). "Four Hundred Candles: The Creation of a Repertoire". Kronos Quartet. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- "Online Newshour: Kronos". Newshour. December 3, 1998. NPRhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec98/kronos_12-3.html
|transcripturl=
missing title (help). - Gold, Gerald (February 17, 1991). "Record Notes; Kronos Takes One to Tango". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- "Evening Music". WNYC. November 15, 2004. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- "Astor Piazzola". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Azzi, María Susana; Simon Collier (2000). Le grand tango: the life and music of Ástor Piazzolla. Oxford University Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-19-512777-5.
- Richardson, Susan (April 16, 1992). "Rev. of Kronos Quartet, Pieces of Africa". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- "Pieces of Africa: Kronos' Latest Recording". Morning Edition. February 28, 1992. NPR.
- Schwarz, K. Robert (June 10, 1993). "Rev. of Kronos Quartet, Short Stories". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- Walsh, Michael (September 20, 1993). "Not Just a One-Tune Man". Time. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- Rhein, John von (April 12, 1989). "Kronos sparkles with visual cool". Chicago Tribune. p. 3.
- Ross, Alex (June 19, 2009). "American Sublime: Morton Feldman". The New Yorker. p. 84ff.
- Ross, Alex (November 5, 1993). "Critic's Notebook; Of Mystics, Minimalists and Musical Miasmas". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Holland, Bernard (April 28, 1992). "Classical Music in Review". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- "Hamlisch Symphony Plays in Paris". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 30, 1994. p. D7.
- Theakston, Rob (2007). "Album review, Rage". All Music Guide. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- McLellan, Joseph (July 2, 1995). "Schuller's Muse Returns". The Washington Post. p. G8.
- "Top Classical Albums: Performs Philip Glass". Billboard. April 29, 1995. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- "The Billboard Classical 50: Performs Philip Glass". Billboard. May 13, 1995. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
- Kozinn, Allan (August 15, 1996). "Composers Who Feel Rock's Pull". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Dyer, Richard (June 5, 1997). "Rev. of Kronos Quartet, David Krakauer: Osvaldo Golijov – The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind". The Boston Globe.
- McLellan, Joseph (June 27, 1997). "New Releases: Classical". Washington Post. p. G.08.
- Kozinn, Allan (October 9, 1997). "Critic's Choice/Classical CD's; A Fertile Field: Experimenting With Early Music". New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- Johnson, Lawrence B. (August 30, 1998). "A Quartet All Over The Map? Not Here". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Buck, Paul (2002). Lisbon: A Cultural and Literary Companion. Signal Books. pp. 177–78. ISBN 978-1-902669-35-9.
- "Top Classical Albums: Caravan". Billboard. August 12, 2000. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- Templeton, David (April 2002). "Mexican Radio: For Kronos Quartet, it's a whole Nuevo world". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 16 (7): 98.
- "Top Classical Crossover Albums: Nuevo". Billboard. August 3, 2002. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- Sisario, Ben (August 19, 2003). "Arts Briefing". New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
- Ulrich, Allan (October 2, 2001). "Kronos plays serene and cranky music: Modern quartet gives substantive works their due". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- Cowan, Rob (October 20, 2003). "The Compact Collection; Rob Cowan on the best CD Releases". The Independent. p. 15.
- Felsenfeld, Daniel (January 2004). "Titans of Cool: Kronos Quartet marks its 30th anniversary with three new recordings". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 18 (5): 91–92.
- Schiff, David (September 21, 2003). "ART; The Secret Love Affair Behind the 'Lyric Suite'". New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
- Ulrich, Allan (October 2, 2001). "Kronos plays serene and cranky music: Modern quartet gives substantive works their due". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
- "Top Classical Albums: Mugam Sayagi: Music Of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh". Billboard. February 19, 2005. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- G., L. (September 2005). "Rev. of You've Stolen My Heart by the Kronos Quartet and Asha Boshle". New Internationalist. 382: 26.
- Tsioulcas, Anastasia; Jonathan Cohen (August 27, 2005). "Rev. of You've Stolen My Heart: Songs From R.D. Burman's Bollywood by the Kronos Quartet and Asha Boshle". Billboard. 117 (35): 52.
- "Grammy nomination a tribute to RD". The Times of India. December 12, 2005.
- "Complete List Of Grammy Nominees". San Francisco Chronicle. December 9, 2005. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- Cahill, Greg (August–September 2007). "Editor's Choice". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 22 (2): 147.
- "Top Classical Albums for the 4/7/2007 issue". Reuters. March 30, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- "Mixed Media". Teen Strings. String Letter Publishing. 3 (1): 40. January–February 2008.
- Gimbel (May–June 2008). "Riley: The Cusp of Magic". American Record Guide. pp. 173–74.
- "Top Classical Albums: Terry Riley: The Cusp Of Magic". Billboard. May 3, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- Tsioulcas, Anastasia (2009). Floodplain (CD booklet). Kronos Quartet. Nonesuch Records. #518349.
- Uniko (CD booklet). Kimmo Pohjonen, Samuli Kosminen and Kronos Quartet. Ondine. 2011. ODE 1185-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Taylor, Hollis (February–March 1999). "A Kronos Quartet Retrospective: 25 Years of Experimentation". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 13 (6): 127–30.
- "2081". Moving Picture Institute. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- Crebo, Anna (November 1, 2002). "Osvaldo Golijov: A busy composer finds it all a little 'scary.'". American Record Guide. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- "Rev. of The Man Who Cried". Soundtrack. Soundtrack.net. June 24, 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- Gonzalez, Yann. "Rev. of The Man Who Cried". Chronicart.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- Lawson, Terry (April 25, 2002). "Rev. of Big Bad Love". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- Burr, Ty (January 16, 2004). "The Company is graceful, but unmoving". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- Lechner, Ernesto (August 3, 2003). "Movies; Expressive restraint; Gustavo Santaolalla is building on his reputation as a Latin-music producer by scoring high-profile movies". Los Angeles Times. p. E6.
- Cahill, Greg (November 2007). "Rev. of Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 22 (4): 89–90.
- Cahill, Greg (January 2008). "Kronos Watch!". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 22 (6): 77.
Published music
- Kronos Collection, Vol. 1. Boosey and Hawkes. 2007.
Bibliography
- Parker, Mara (2005). String quartets: a research and information guide. Routledge. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-415-94176-1.
- Richardson, Derk (January 1999). "Portrait of a Quartet: The Kronos reaps the rewards of 25 years of not fitting the mold". Strings. String Letter Publishing. 13 (5): 49–57.
- Wynn, Ron. "Kronos Quartet", in Woodstra, Chris; Gerald Brennan; Allen Schrott (2005). All music guide to classical music. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 709. ISBN 978-0-87930-865-0.